Thinnai- a sit out in front of the house in Tamil

Our ancestral homes were built to look something like the above with a narrow entrance to the house with door heights that made you bend a little to get in.  The doors were made of solid Burma Teak wood that were heavy and had metallic studs depicting various gods who not only welcomed the guests but also made him humble, naturally before entering the house as he bent forward a little to get inside!
The house also had a seating place right before the entrance where people could sit comfortably and spend some time talking or resting.  The idea behind this "Thinnai" as known in Tamil is to provide shelter to passersby in those days who travelled by foot to various places as there were no faster means of transport except bullock carts!  The person after walking for sometime used to rest in one of such houses that had this facility, take rest and proceed in his journey.  The people living in that house would usually engage in a conversation with the traveller and get to know from where he belongs to and the destination he is headed to besides his other voluntary family details.  In the process, the humane nature would offer some water to overcome thirst, some butter milk or sometimes even food for the traveller!  Thus,  was the South Indian culture that prevailed since centuries and can be seen even today in some of the deep rooted villages in TamilNadu and Kerala.
The house was built to care for the inmates and the travellers who walked on bare foot braving the hot sunny weather for their work.

Now, the architect designed homes in the city and elsewhere have no such open space in front of the house.  Such spaces have been eaten up to provide a bigger bed room or a kitchen that can be termed as selfish in the modern era!  There is no scope for anyone to sit and relax anywhere on the street as most of the houses have secured boundaries, not to speak of offering water to the thirsty!

I wish the historic era of yesteryear come back and help us  make one lovely "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" meaning the world is one family- a Sanskrit phrase.

Deira City Centre, Dubai

      
                       
                        
                                       

Deira City Centre, a well known and popular shopping Mall has all the materials that can entertain a person for hours together and even for a full day outing.  Anyone who visits Dubai does not miss a chance to visit this popular address that fulfills your shopping needs, household matters and belly needs!
Each and every shop out there glitters with lighting that attracts any customer into its fold. The only negative that I have to write is that it does not offer any seating arrangements for seniors or elderly persons who accompany their family out of curiosity and interest to go around the shopping Mall to spend time.  The Mall is unfriendly for all those who have knee problems, over weight and other physical challenges that makes it difficult to walk for a prolonged time.  I along with my family members embarked on this adventure and after a flat 3-4 hours of spending time, only standing and walking, I developed a sudden heel spur that made me immobile for the rest of my holidays in Dubai.

                                 

The only place where you can sit is the food court where you end up eating a bit of unwarranted food and some hot or cold beverage that gives you little more time to sit on the chair and spend some more time relaxing. The other place where one can sit in comfort is the theater  where movies are screened so that some 3 hours are spent in peace while your family shops!  I tried yet another method to sit in a shoe shop trying shoes in the pretext of buying it.  In the process, I also quenched my thirst with some drinking water provided by the courteous shop keeper.  In the bargain, I ended up buying the shoes spending my money!!  This kind of rest made a drain on my purse, I realized.

If only the City centre management willingly accepts the fact that seniors are also equally important for the success of a Shopping Mall and provide some kind of seating arrangements within the Mall, the Mall will find more business forthcoming and prosper.  After all, the senior citizens are the real money givers or spenders for the younger generation or the family to shop in the Mall.  Let the senior and elderly people enjoy coming back again and again to the City Centre to push volumes of sales and income for the shops within!